These delights if thou canft give, H XIV. *IL PENSEROSO. ENCE vain deluding joys, The brood of folly without father bred, How little you bested, Or fill the fixed mind with all your toys? Dwell in fome idle brain, And fancies fond with gaudy shapes poffefs, 5 As If man were wife to fee't, A fight that piercing mortifies, 11 Then ftretch our bones in a flill 2. The brood of folly without father bred,] He affigns the fame kind of origin to these fantastic A tongue chain'd up without a joys, as Hefiod does to dreams, found. which he fays the Night brings forth without a father. Theog. 212. - ετικε δε φύλον ονείρων" Ου τινι κοιμηθείσα θεα τεκε Νυξ ερεβεινη. Mr. Thyer had made the fame obfervation with me; and we may be the more certain of this allufion on account of the following comparison likeft bovering dreams. As thick and numberless As the gay motes that people the fun-beams, Or likeft hovering dreams The fickle penfioners of Morpheus train. But hail thou Goddefs, fage and holy, Hail divinest Melancholy, Whose faintly visage is too bright..... And therefore to our weaker view 10 15 O'erlaid with black, ftaid wisdom's hue; Black, but fuch as in esteem Prince Memnon's fifter might beseem, To fet her beauties praise above 20 The The Sea-Nymphs, and their pow'rs offended: Thee bright-hair'd Vefta long of yore His daughter the (in Saturn's reign, Such mixture was not held a stain). All in a robe of darkest grain, 25 30 her age, daring to compare herfelf to the Nereids, raifed their indignation against her to fuch a degree, that they fent a prodigious whale into the country, fo that to appeafé them the was commanded by the oracle to expofe her daughter Andromeda, to be devoured by the monster; but Perfeus delivered Andromeda, and procured Caffiope to be taken into Heaven; for which laft reafon our author here calls her the ftarr'd Ethiop queen. Peck. 23. Thee bright-hair'd Vefta &c] VOL. II. And fable stole of Cyprus lawn, Over thy decent shoulders drawn. Come but keep thy wonted ftate, With a fad leaden downward caft Thou fix them on the earth as fast: And join with thee calm Peace, and Quiet, Ay round about Jove's altar fing: 50 55 60 Sweet |